With the sudden onset of COVID-19, the the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber did what many of our member businesses and peer organizations did and moved much of our communications, meetings, events, and general connection with our members to an online platform. Beginning April 1, we launched a weekly “Wednesday Livestream” on our Facebook page to connect our members and Facebook followers with community leaders and experts as we navigated the uncharted territory of Coronavirus. If you missed this series, or would like to review a particular presentation or conversation, you can find all of our COVID-related Wednesday Livestreams archived on our blog.

On July 1, we launched our new “15 Minutes Series,” which will continue in our Wednesday morning timeslot with 15 minute presentations or conversations featuring community leaders and elected officials, practical applications for businesses, topcis to inspire business professionals and entrepreneurs, timely topics for our members and community, and occasional bits of fun. To view our new “15 Minutes Series,” join us live on the Kissimmee/Osceola County Facebook page every Wednesday at 9:30 am. Some topics will be live, and we will welcome questions from viewers in real time.

All programs in the series for the months of November & December will be archived below with later programs to follow in additional posts.

Find episodes from July & August HERE.
Find episodes from September & October HERE.

November 4:  15 Minutes with Our Community Leaders Featuring Commissioner Viviana Janer
Chamber Chair Adrianna Sekula checked in with Osceola County Commission Chairwoman Viviana Janer about the state of Osceola County.

November 11:  15 Minutes on Timely Topics Featuring a Veterans Day Panel
On Veterans Day 2020 a panel of community and Chamber members, who are also veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, joined us to discuss their time in the service and how their experiences have influenced them in their work life today.

‍November 18:  15 Minutes on Inspiring Better Business Featuring Leadership Osceola
We spent 15 minutes with Leadership Osceola program director Sue Ring and some current Leadership participants for a dive into this exciting program and info on how you or your team can participate.

November 25:  15 Minutes on Timely Topics Featuring SMART Bus
We learned about SMART Bus, a collaboration between the teams at AdventHealth and Orlando Health to keep the Osceola County School District’s most vulnerable students fed and healthy.

December 2:  15 Minutes with Our Community Leaders Featuring Osceola County Sheriff-Elect Marco Lopez
We spent 15 minutes with Osceola County’s Sheriff-Elect Marco Lopez. Learn more about his journey to public service and hear about his plans for the County as he prepares to be sworn in in January.

December 16:  15 Minutes on Timely Topics Featuring COVID-19 Vaccines with AdventHealth
Victor Herrera, MD, an infectious disease doctor with AdventHealth, joined us to discuss the coming COVID-19 vaccine, who should receive it, and what the development of this vaccine means for the end of the pandemic.

December 23:  15 Minutes Series:  A Holiday & Giving Back Special
This special installment of our 15 Minutes Series features the 2020 Chairmen of three of our Area Councils who joined us to share some of the community impact their councils had throughout 2020.

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December 30:  15 Minutes Series Featuring a Three Kings Event Special
Hispanic Business Council Chairman Carlos Velez and our Special Events Director Kayla Rogers joined us to talk about the importance of our annual Three Kings Day event to Osceola County, how the event will look different in 2021 (but still deliver the goods), and all of the people that work behind the scenes to bring this amazing event to life each year!